In case you are having trouble telling us apart, Barnard is the red rabbit on the left, and I am the grey girl on the right. Barnard is a moving mouth puppet that I made as a prototype for his brother, Stephan (accent on the last syllable). I think he is the first puppet I created with a moving mouth. As you may know, most of my puppets are made using papier mache and fabric. However, since Barnard, I have been venturing more and more into puppets made with foam and faux fur. This is entirely due to my involvement with a fantastic puppet company here in Toronto called Unraku. Through being a part of this group, I have learned how to sculpt and pattern foam, create mouthplates and articulate limbs, pattern their bodies, and perform with the puppets. They are an incredibly talented group of artists and performers, and I look forward to featuring each one in subsequent blog posts. Please visit the Unraku website to learn more about Unraku and our upcoming workshops.

Stephan, budding catalogue model

Barnard, enjoying some coffee on the stoop

Photo of Barnard and me taken by Amanda Farquharson with her Diana miniPhoto of Stephan taken by Jason Amlin